Automatic boat drain



April 27, 1965 N. F- KELLER AUTOMATIC BOAT DRAIN 3 Sheets-Sheet 1.

Filed July 17, 1965 INVENTOR [View EKELLER April 1965 N. F. KELLER3,180,301

AUTOMATIC BOAT DRAIN Filed July 17, 1963 3 Sheets-Sheet 2 ATTORNEYSINVEN'IOR April 27, 1965 N. F. KELLER 3,180,301

AUTOMATIC BOAT DRAIN Filed July 17, 1963 3 Sheets-Sheet 5 INVENT ORATTORNEYS United States Patent 3,180,301 AUTOMATIC BOAT DRAIN Nick F.Keller, 2949 E. 12th St., Rt). Box 454, Casper, Wyo.

Filed July 17, 1963, Ser. No. 295,755 8 Claims. (Cl. 114-185) Thepresent invention relates to automatic boat drains. More particularly,the present invention relates to automatic boat bailers for use in speedboats, and the like, which operate to suck water from the boat bilge bymeans of suction created by movement of the boat through the water.

The development of the power boat has made it possible to provide meansoperated by rapid movement of the boat through the water whereby a valvewhich closes an opening the bottom of the boat when the boat is at restwill open automatically as the boat moves, to allow bilge water to flowout from or be drawn out of the boat and thereby reduce, or at leastmaintain bilge accumulating from rain, spray, waves and leakage, at aconstant level.

Such automatic drains, founded on Bernoullis famous engineeringprinciple on the mechanics of fluid flow, have been under developmentfor many years since the advent of the power boat. Automatic drainshowever, while sound in principle, have been found unsatisfactory inpractice since the ideal conditions necessary for proper operation ofsuch drains seldom exist, that is, a secure closing of the drain while aboat is at rest, and an immediate partial vacuum or suction as soon asthe boat is not at rest. For example, a boat at rest in water is neverreally quiet due to wind, tides, eddying currents and waves. Thus, thesmall float valve upon which virtually all automatic boat drains relyfor secure closing while a boat is at rest, is seldom securely closedbecause the boat is constantly moving to and fro with short rockingmovements, which are insufficient to cause an amount of suctionnecessary to draw out water, but provide just enough suction toencourage the float valve to open and permit water to seep therepast.Waves and wind also cause a boat to rock and sway from side to side andbob up and down, each upward sway and each upward bob being sufiicientto raise the boat at least slightly in the water, creating suction or adecrease in upward floatation or buoyancy pressure on the float valvethat also encourages it to open and allow water to seep past.

Thus, with the use of prior art automatic boat drains, water would alsoget into a boat through seepage past the float valve of an automaticdrain during virtually any weather conditions such that it wouldbenecessary to pump the boat out, or raise it out of the water. and removethe factory drain plug and let water run out, or use a sponge or suctionor any of the other commonly known means of removing the bilge water.All of these methods of course require the time and attention of aperson, and for this reason a completely automatic boat drain is stilldesired which may be attached to the boat permanently and which willrequire no attention to operate it.

Known automatic boat drains are also objectionable from still otherstandpoints. Some such drains for example are provided with elementsretained beneath the boat bottom. This construction causes considerableresistance or drag in the water which tends to decreasethe speed andperformance of the boat. Since configurations are also objectionablesince they can be easily damaged .by underwater objects.

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In some of the known automatic drain devices, attempts to solve leakageproblems have resulted in the use of rubber and other non-metal valvesand valve seats. Such valves are unsatisfactory since in efforts to makeautomatic boat drains which include a rubber valve for example, it hasbeen found that the rubber begins to stick when left'sitting in waterfor several days. Valves provided by round metal and non-metal ballshave also been found objectionable in that the round shape of the balltends to hamper water flow past the ball valve and valve seat.

It is therefore an object of the invention to overcome the defects ofprior art boat drains and provide a simple, inexpensive, and practicalmeans by which water will be automatically discharged from the interiorof a boat when the boat is subjected to any motion.

Another object of the invention is to provide an automatic drain for aboat with means for positively closing the drain when the movement ofthe boat is insuflicient to provide for the automatic discharge of bilgewater from the interior thereof.

Other and further objects and advantages of this invention will becomemore apparent to those skilled in the art when reference is had to theaccompanying disclosure and drawings.

The objects of this invention are achieved by providing an automaticboat drain combination of a valve casing mounted against the rear, outerface of the transom of a boat, with a pipe extending through thetransom, connected by a hose to a filter casing supported with itsscreen in spaced relation to the bottom of the interior of the boat,with the provision in the outer casing of a floatactuated valve. Thepresent boat drain is also equipped with a filter to preventinterference from trouble-causing foreign matter, and with a manual lockoff in case of emergency.

In more detail, the present automatic boat drain consists of twoseparate parts which are attached together by means of a flexible hose.One of these parts, the filtering agent, may be movably disposed insidethe boat; while the other part, the automatic draining mechanism, isfirmly attached to the outside of the boat. The filtering agent insidethe boat keeps sand, seaweed and other impurities from getting into theworking mechanism of the externally disposed automatic boat drainmechanism since impurities, if large enough, may foul the automaticmechanism. The automatic draining mechanism is preferably attached in apermanent manner, either with bolts or screws, to the outside transom ofthe boat and is attached as close to the bottom and as near the centerof the transom as possible.

Turning now to the drawings:

FIGURE 1 is a side elevational View of the automatic draining mechanismand filtering agent installed in a suitable boat;

FIGURE 2 is an end view of the filtering agent;

FIGURE 3 is a detailed view, in cross-section, of the filtering agent;

FIGURE 4 is a bottom view of the filtering agent;

FIGURE 5 is a side view of the automatic drain mechanism;

FIGURE 6 is a detail side view of the automatic drain mechanism, partlyin section and somewhat enlarged;

FIGURE 7 is a top view of the automatic drain mechanism, partly insection and taken along lines 7--7 in FIGURE 6 to show someconstructional features;

FIGURE 8 is a view similar to FIGURE 7, but taken along the lines 8-8 inFIGURE 6;

FIGURE 9 is another sectional view, similar to FIG- URES 7 and 8, buttaken along the lines 99 of FIG- URE 6; and

FIGURE 10 is a bottom sectional view of the automatic drain mechanism,partly in section, and taken along lines 1l10 in FIGURE 6 to show otherconstructional features.

Turning now to FIGURES l to 4 of the drawings, there is seen a boatindicated generally at E and having a bottom hull 21, side hulls 22 andtransom 23. According to this invention, there is disposed in andattached to boat B an automatic boat drain comprising automatic drainmechanism 20, a filtering agent 30, and flexible connecting hose 23. Asshown, filtering agent 36 is resting at a distance somewhat above bottomhull 21 and in bilge water 24, and filtering agent 30 and flexible hose28 are connected to automatic drain mechanism 20 by means of a hole 25in transom 23.

The filtering agent, indicated generally at 30, is round and is machinedin such a manner that a screen 31 can be attached therein by means of anexpandable C-washer 32 in groove 33 such that water flowing to theautomatic draining mechanism will pass through this screen and therebyhold impurities from entering the automatic draining mechanism. In themachining of the filtering agent, provision is made as at 34 forattaching a tube 39 to which the hose 28 is connected, to carry bilgewater 24 from the filtering agent to the automatic draining mechanism.The filtering agent thus is provided with lower chamber 36, upperchamber 37, and side outlet chamber 38.

There could be variations of design of the filtering agent such ashaving the connecting tube 39 attached to the top rather than to theside, or the connecting tube 39 could be attached at an angle ratherthan straight. The design would make very little difference so long asthe filtering agent, while in use, is kept airtight and the screen ismounted beneath the level of water to be sucked out of the boat, toprovide an uninterrupted flow of water to the automatic drainingmechanism. Additionally, filtering agent 30 may be provided with one ormore bilge water inlets 35 around the periphery of lower chamber 36 incases where means are not otherwise provided to support the filteringagent at a distance above the inside bottom of boat hull 21.

Turning now to FIGURES through 10, it is seen that the automatic boatdrain mechanism indicated generally at 20 is principally composed ofupper chamber section 40, central section 50 and lower chamber section60.

Upper chamber section 40 is provided with upper chamber 44 for receivingbilge water from inlet pipe 29. The upper chamber is sealed at the topby coaction of screw threads 41 with upper plug 48, which is primarilyintended to provide a tight seal and keep water and air from entering orleaving the chamber 44, etc. However, in the upper plug, provision ismade by way of threaded opening 42 to carry a threaded safety or manuallock off plug 43 which, in case of faulty operation of the valve orseat, could be removed and screwed into the open end of the lower drainoutlet 69 which is threaded with a matching thread 62, as notedhereinafter to prevent water from entering the boat if the valve face orvalve seat (described hereinbelow) failed.

Upper chamber 44 is also provided with bilge water drain channels 45 toconnect upper chamber 44 to central section 50 and thereafter throughdrain channel 53 to lower section 60 as described hereinafter; Althoughup per chamber 44 is shown having a cylindrical form with a verticalaxis, it is to be understood that upper chamber 44 may be cylindricalwith a horizontal axis, or any other shape prepared by casting and/ orboring through the up per opening closed by upper plug 48 or through theopening provided at inlet pipe 29. It is also to be understood thatwhile inlet pipe 29 is shown connected to upper chamber section 40 bymeans of welding, suitable threads may be provided in upper chambersection 40 to receive a threaded inlet pipe.

Turning now to central section 50, there are shown screw threads 51 and52 for joining the three sections 40, 5t) and 60 together.Alternatively, welding, brazing, soldering, screws or nuts and bolts maybe used to accomplish this joining. The bilge Water drain channels 45 ofsection 40 are connected through central section 50 to lower chambersection 66 by means of drain channel 53 defined by upper tapered opening54, annular openings 55 and 56, and the tapered opening provided byvalve seat 57.

Also shown in the drawing is a lower plug 63, attached to lower chambersection 60 and sealed therein by coaction with screw threads 61. Thepurpose of the lower plug is to keep water and air from entering orleaving the chambers and it also serves as a stop for the valvemechanism 70 to prevent it from dropping too low and out of the valveguide hole 47 and away from valve seat 57. Besides providing a sealingfunction, lower plug 63 also facilitates the assembling of the entireapparatus as will become apparent. Bilge water passing down from sections 40 and 50 flows into lower chamber 64 and then into lower drainoutlet 69. As shown, lower drain outlet 69 can be provided with screwthreads 62, equal in pitch to threads 42, for receiving safety plug 43for use in instances where the present draining mechanism may becomeunexpectedly fouled.

As shown, lower chamber 64 receives the valve mecha nism indicatedgenerally at 70 and which has been inserted for example through theopening provided by removing lower plug 63 from screw threads 62. Valvemechanism 70 is composed of a central valve shaft 71 having integralupper and lower shaft sections 71a and 71b respectively. A buoyantmaterial 73, such as Styrofoam is attached to lower shaft section 71b bymeans of any suitable adhesive, such as an epoxy cement. Finally, thecentral portion of valve shaft 71 is provided with an annular extensionhaving a tapered face portion 77.

The design of the valve mechanism 70 and the valve seat 57 is such thatthe valve face 77 must engage the valve seat properly as the buoyantmaterial 73 causes the valve to raise against the valve seat. Guide hole47 in upper section 40 controls the movement of the valve mechanism asit slides up and down by coaction with upper valve shaft section 71a.Guide hole 47 and valve shaft section 71a have very little clearance,and as a result the valve mechanism seats properly against the valveseat 57 regardless of the bouncing and swaying action of the boat. Asnoted, buoyant material 73 is attached to projection 71b on the lowerpart of the valve and construction of the valve mechanism, valve seat 57and buoyant material keeps all three in alignment at all times. Thedrawing illustrates (FIG. 6) the valve in an open or water passingposition.

The operation of the automatic boat drain will now be described indetail. This description will cover a full cycle, from the time the boatis stopped, through the momentum interval when the water is draining andthen when the boat is stopped again.

It is to be understood that the self-bailing device is capable of beingembodied in boat hull designs of both relatively flat planing types anddisplacement types, the former being constructed to cause the bottom toliterally lift out of the water as the forward speed is increased, whilethe displacement type rides somewhat deeper in the water and pushes thewater aside as it moves forward, it being well known that a floatingobject is bouyed up by the weight of water displaced and that the weightof water displaced is essentially equal to the weight of the object inthe air.

While the boat B (see FIG. 1) is standing still in the water and has noforward momentum, the entire automatic draining mechanism 20 issubmerged under the surface of the water. Water from a lake or otherbody of water enters the lower chamber 64 through the outlet tube 69. Asthe lower chamber fills with water, the bonyant material 73 floats, andas this buoyant material rises, it also raises the valve mechanism 70until the valve face 77 seats into the valve seat 57; The valve face andthe valve seat are both machined to have mating surfaces and forexample, may have a 45 degree taper which has been found suitable forpresent purposes. As the valve and seat are machined together, when theycontact each other all water flow into the boat is prevented. The Waterpressure exerted against the valve mechanism from the lake has no effecton the operation of the valve. The more pressure the harder the push isagainst the valve seat from the valve face and it is this action of thevalve mechanism against the seat which prevents water from entering theboat when the boat is stopped and the automatic drain is under water.

When the boat starts moving forward, even at a slight rate of speed,water can no longer engulf the rear of the transom 23 whereon theautomatic drain mechanism 20 is mounted. Because the drain works ongravity flow temporarily, water flows out of lower chamber 64 throughlower drain outlet 69 and into the lake. The absence of water in thelower chamber allows the valve mechanism to fall away from the valveseat. When this happens, there is no restriction to the flow of water,and the valve mechanism and valve seat are in the position shown inFIGURE 6. As the boat starts its forward momentum, the how raisesslightly and any water which may be in the boat moves toward the rear ofthe boat. There being nothing to prevent the flow of water, the valvemechanism being away from the valve seat, the pull of gravity thencauses bilge water to flow through the filtering agent 30 .through theflexible connecting hose 28, through the inlet pipe 29 and into theupper chamber 44. From there it flows down through the channels 45 incentral section 40, through drain channel 53 and around the valve seatand out around the valve face where there is clearance when the valve isin the open position. The bilge Water comes past the valve seat and intothe lower chamber 64 and then on out into the lake through the lowerdrain outlet 69.

It is to be remembered that action of the present automatic boat drainis initiated by water pressure from inside the boat which causes thedrain to start operation, as opposed to existing devices where anelement is disposed in the water to induce suction and cause suchdevices to operate.

If the boat continues to gain in speed, its bow begins to lower asmomentum increases and when the boat reaches its planing speed it ridesfairly level in the water, the bow being raised slightly and this keepswater fairly well to the rear of the boat. The entire automatic drainmechanism is airtight and thus there already is water running from theforce of gravity. The lower drain outlet is lower than the filteringagent with the result that the force of gravity which started the waterrunning becomes the force that keeps it running because of a syphonaction. The water will continue to flow out of the boat until all wateris removed, air gets into the various chambers, or the boat is stopped.

When the boat is stopped, water again enters the lower chamber from thelake. As the lower chamber fills with water, buoyant material 73 againraises the valve mechanism against the valve seat which shuts off anyflow of water back into the boat.

It will thus be seen that the several foregoing objects and advantageshave been satisfied by the present invention, and that the presentautomatic drain mechanism is a boat accessory which can be easilyattached to an existing boat with very little cost and substantially noboat modifications. Moreover, the present device uses a flat metal valveand valve seat to provide for maximum water 6 outflow rates, and toprevent sticking. The necessary buoyancy of the valve is caused by aseparate buoyant material capable of raising the valve into the valveseat.

The present device is situated on the transom of boats where it isprotected by the boat and the motor and/or propeller shaft, and obviatesa need for dependent structures in the water to cause suction since itis started in operation by virtue of pressure rather than suction.Suction devices of course cause drag to initiate suction and such moneyis spent by boat manufacturers to design their boats for the leastamount of drag. A safety factor is also to be considered by eliminatingprojections below the boat where there is a danger of being dislodged orknocked by objects in the water while the boat is in motion or by theforce of waves striking against the underside of the boat while inmotion or when it is beached and subjected to pounding surf.

It will be obvious to those skilled in the art that various changes maybe made in the invention without departing from the spirit and scopethereof. For example, the shape of the various chambers and parts may bealtered as understood by those in the art, and various means offastening, such as threaded bolts and openings and welding or shrinkfitting, etc., may be employed to connect the several parts together.Therefore, the invention is not limited by the form illustrated in thedrawing and described in the specification, but only as indicated in theappended claims.

What is claimed is:

1. An automatic boat drain for installation in boats having a bottomhull and rear transom comprising in combination an automatic boat drainmechanism mounted against the rear outer face of the transom of a boat,said automatic boat drain mechanism being provided with a pipe extendingthrough the transom, said pipe being connected by means of a flexiblehose to a filtering agent for preventing foreign matter from fouling theautomatic boat drain mechanism and having a screen, said filtering agentbeing supported with its screen in spaced relation to the interiorbottom hull of the boat, said automatic boat drain mechanism beingprovided with a float-actuated valve.

2. An automatic boat drain for installation in boats having a bottomhull and rear transom comprising in combination an automatic drainingmechanism and a filtering agent, said automatic draining mechanismhaving a laterally extending exhaust pipe and a laterally extendinginlet pipe section provided for lateral insertion through the reartransom of a boat, there being a passage formed in said automaticdraining mechanism to operatively connect said exhaust pipe with a lowerchamber in said automatic draining mechanism, said passage beingprovided with an upwardly sloping valve seat extending thereacross, anupper chamber in said automatic draining mechanism operatively connectedto said inlet pipe, at least one channel connecting said upper chamberwith said upwardly sloping valve seat, a guide member axially disposedabove said valve seat, a floatable valve slidably associated with saidlower chamber, valve seat and guide member, said floatable valve beingmovable in said lower chamber relative to said valve seat such thatwater in said lower chamber will cause said valve to sealingly engagewith said valve seat and prevent passage of water upwardly into saidchannel.

3. The automatic boat drain of claim 2 wherein said eilrhau'st pipe isadapted to receive a removable safety P 5- 4. The automatic boat drainof claim 2 wherein the upper chamber of the automatic draining mechanismis adapted to receive a removable safety plug.

5. The automatic boat drain of claim 2 wherein the valve is providedwith an upwardly sloping portion to mate with said upwardly slopingvalve seat.

6. The automatic boat drain of claim 5 wherein, a buoyant material issecurably fastened to said valve in 3,180,301 7 v 8 operative engagementwith said upwardly sloping portion. References Cited by the Examiner 7.The automatic boat dram of claim 2 wherein the UNITED STATES PATENTSautomatic drain mechamsm 1s securably fastened on the outside of theboat and the inlet pipe passes through 21 1,035,199 8/12 Klett 114-185wall of the boat and is connected by means of a hose to 5 2,565,885 8/51Reitz 114-185 the filtering agent disposed within the boat. 5 31 12 53conovgr 114-1 5 8. The automatic boat drain of claim 2 wherein thefiltering agent is disposed below the level of water in the MILTONBUCHLER, Primary Examiner boat and is provided with a rcmovably retainedmeans for preventing foreign matter from fouling the valve seat 10ANDREW H. FARRELL, Examiner. of said automatic drain mechanism.

1. AN AUTOMATIC BOAT DRAIN FOR INSTALLATION IN BOATS HAVING A BOTTOMHULL AND REAR TRANSOM COMPRISING IN COMBINATION AN AUTOMATIC BOAT DRAINMECHANISM MOUNTED AGAINST THE REAR OUTER FACE OF THE TRANSOM OF A BOAT,SAID AUTOMATIC BOAT DRAIN MECHANISM BEING PROVIDED WITH A PIPE EXTENDINGTHROUGH THE TRANSOM, SAID PIPE BEING CONNECTED BY MEANS OF A FLEXIBLEHOSE TO A FILTERING AGENT